Bowling alley



April '14, 1931. G. o. WARDROP BOWLING ALLEY Filed March 16. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. O. WARDROP BOWLING ALLEY Filed March 16. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 jam April 14, 1931.

April 14, 1931. G. o. WARDROP BOWLING ALLEY Filed March 16. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GROVER O. WARDROP, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRUNSWICK- .BALKE-COLLENDER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE BOWLING ALLEY Application filed March 16, 1928. Serial No. 262,292.

My invention relates to bowling alleys and has an especial relation to alleys of the type wherein carriers are employed for deposit ing pins on the alley bed.

One object of the invention is to provide a carrier with devices for accurately and positively depositing tethered pins on an alley bed.

Another object is to provide housings on a carrier of the type mentioned of an especially simple, yet'strong and durable construction.

A further object is to provide a carrier and devices for raising and lowering the same which are located below the plane of the alley bed with operative connections which extend upwardly through openings in the kickbacks to the carrier and are thus rendered inconspicuous whereby an attractive appearance of the alley is maintained.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a bowling alley embodying the invention.

Fig. 1 constitutes a continuation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rear of the same.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of a spot for each of the pins.

Fig. 4: is a plan view of a housing for a bowling pin.

Fig. 5 is a central sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of a modified form of a spot.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line VIl-VII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of spot and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the spot shown in Fig. 8.

The kickbacks 1 and the alley bed 2 are supported by legs 3 and the alley bed in clines forwardly to the front where it curves downwardly as shown at 4 in order that it may not present a sharp corner at this point which might injure the hands of the player as he delivers the ball. The bed is covered by a layer of sound deadening material 5' such as cork.

At the rear of the alley a cushion 6 is provided for arresting the balls and a hopper 7 in the pit which discharges into a returnway 8. The returnway extends under the bed forwardly to the front thereof where it communicates with a transverse trough 10 in which the balls are stored.

Above the alley bed is a carrier 11 which comprises a platform 12 bordered by a metal frame 13. The platform has a plurality of openings 14 therein and supports in align- .ment with its openings, a luralit of housings for bowling pins 15.

ach o the housings comprises a lower casing 16 secured to v the platform and an upper casing 17. plate 18 is secured between the upper and lower casings and impart strength to the construction as it prevents any of the housings from being forced loose from the platform. The plate 18 has openings which align with the chambers in the housings. The lower part of the chamber in each housing is enlarged to correspond to the diameter of the body of the pin and the upper part of the chamber corresponds in size to the head of the pin. The upper casing has an upwardly directed tubular extension 20 provided at its upper end with a holder for an enlar ed head 21 on an elastic, tether 22. The older comprises a pair of fillers 23 fitting within a cavity in the end of the tubular extension and the fillers are shaped to provide when assembled a relatively large recess in which the head of the tether fits and a relatively small recess through which the tether extends.

Each bowling pin is provided with an axial opening through which the tether passes and at its bottom is provided with a cavity which it may be readilg removed from the bowlingin by takin o the armature 26, and withrawing the lers 24. The upper end of the tether may be similarly removed from the metal, are set into the face of the alley bed,

each having embedded therein, the poles of a permanent magnet 28. When the carrier 11 is lowered in a manner presently to be described, the bases of the bowling pins are deposited on the spots, the inner walls of the housings being such as to insure the proper position of the pins and their alignment with their respective spots. The magnets 28 then acting upon the armatures retain the pins upon the alley beds, the tethers 22 becoming stretched when the carrier is elevated.

By providing the extension 20 on the housing an extra length of tether is made available so that the raising of the carrier will not produce too great tension on the tether which would lift the pin off the spot' and prevent its being retained in position to be struck by the bowling ball.

For raising and lowering the carrier, a pair of brackets 30 are provided disposed on opposite sides of the same, and each secured to the plate 18 and frame 13.

Each. bracket is secured to the upper end of a rod 31 which extends through an openin in a respective kick-back 1 and is reciprocafile in tubular guides 32 on the kick-back. Each rod 31 has at its lower end a in 33 which extends through a slot 34 in t e end of an arm 35 of a lever. The lever is mounted to rock on a transverse shaft and the pin and slot connection permits the lever to exert a cam like action on the rod .31 for raising the same. Another arm 37 of the lever supports a counterweights 38 which tends to balance the carrier 11. One of the levers is provided with an arm 40 which is connected by a link 41 with a lever 42 pivoted at the front of the alley on a bracket 43.

The lever 42 may be operated by the player and may be swung to move the link 41 and the arms 40 and 35 and thereby ralse or lower the rods 31 and the carrier 11. A plunger 44 on the lever 42 is urged by a spring 45 into engagement with a bar 46 which is pro.- vided with a notch 47 to receive the end of the plunger and lock the lever 42 in fixed position as shown in Fig. 1 when the carrier 11 is in elevated position.

In the modified form of spot shown in Figs. 6 and 7 a housing 48 of suitable material such as cast iron has a flange 49 which is secured to the bottom of the alley bed and is provided in its upper face with an opening in which a core 50 is centered by means of a non-magnetic ring 51 of suitable material such as brass. A coil 52 surrounds the core and is held in fixed position between the rin and a bridge 53 in which the lower end of t e core is riveted, the brid e being secured to the flange 49. Electricaflonnections, not shown, are provided for energizing the coils.

The magnet 54 shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is of the permanent type and its poles extend upwardly through openings 55 in the alley bed. A pin-56 extends through the sides of the magnet and. constitutes a ivotal mountmg on a pair of ears 57 whic depend from a support 58 secured to the bottom of the alley bed. The openings provide clearance for the poles of the magnet so that when the base of a bowling pin engages then they may swing on the pivot pin and contact more squarely with the armatures. The movement of the magnet is about an axis extending transversely of the alley bed so that it may overcome any tendency of the pin to lean to an undue degree because of the sli ht forward and downward inclination of t e alley bed. The pivot pin 54 and the support 58 are1 prefera ly made of non-magnetic materia The invention is not limited to the specific details of the embodiment illustrated and described, but diverse modifications of this embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. A substantial range of equivalents is contemplated.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a bowling alley bed, a bowling pin, a carrier, means for moving said carrier to and from said bed, a two part housing onsaid carrier, one part of said housing being of a shape to conform to the greater portion of said pin, the other part of said housing being of relatively small cross section and having a reduced tubular upward extension thereon, and an elastic tether secured to said pin and extending through said other part of said housing and secured adjacent the upper end thereof.

2. The combination of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of bowling pins, :1 carrier, means for moving said carrier to and from said bed, said carrier comprising a platform having a plurality of openings therein, and a plurality of housings secured to said platform in alignment with said openings, each of said housings being in two parts, one part being of a shape to conform to the greater portion of a pin, the other'part being of relatively small cross section, a plate secured to and interposed between the upper and lower portions of said housings and having a plurality of openings therein in registry with the chambers in said housings, the upper part of each of said housings having a reduced upward tubular extension and an elastic tether secured to each of said pins, and extltt tending through a respective tubular extension and secured to the upper end thereof.

3. A bowling alley com rising an alley bed, a pair of kick-backs aving openings extending upwardly therethrough, a plurality of bowling pins, carrier means above said bed for depositing said pins on said bed, and means below the plane of said bed and having connections extending through said openings in said kick-backs for actuating said carrier means to deposit said pins.

4. A bowling alley comprising an alley bed, a pair of kick-backs having openings extending upwardly therethrough, a carrier, a plurality of pins tethered to said carrier, and means below the plane of said alley bed having connections extending upwardly through said openings for actuating said carrier to deposit said pins on said bed.

5. A bowling alley comprising a bed, a pair of kick-backs having upwardly extending openings therethrough, a carrier, a plural ity of bowling pins, an elastic tether for each of said pins connecting it to said carrier, means below the plane of said alley bed having connections extending upwardly through said openings for actuating said carrier to deposit said pins on said bed and releasable means for retaining said pins on said bed.

6. A bowling alley comprising a bed, a plurality of pins, a carrier movable to and from said bed for depositing pins thereon means for counterbalancing the weight of said carrier, and means for actuating said carrier, including a lever mounted for pivotal movement at the rear of the alley, a lever pivoted at the front of the alley, and a link connecting said levers whereby said carrier may be controlled from the front of the alley.

7 In a device for depositing bowling pins on a bowling alley bed, the combination of an elastic tether having an enlarged head on the end thereof and a holder for said tether comprising a member having a cavity therein and a pair of complementary fillers in said cavity, said fillers having complementary recesses therein to provide, when said fillers are together, an enlarged recess receiving said head and a minor recess through which said tether extends,

8. The combination of a bowling pin hav ing a cavity in the bottom thereof and an opening therethrough, a pair of fillers in said cavity, said fillers being shaped to define relatively large and small recesses therebetween and an elastic tether extending through said opening in said pin and through the smaller recess defined by said fillers and having an enlarged head received in the larger recess defined b said fillers,

9. Th e combination of a bowling pin hav ing a cavity in the bottom thereof and an opening therethrough, a pair of fillers in said cavity, said fillers being shaped to define relati-rely large and small recesses therebetween and an elastic tether extending through said openin in said pin and through the smaller recess efined by said fillers an having an enlarged head received in the larger recess defined by said fillers and an armature in the base of said pin, closing the bottom of said cavity.

10. In a bowling alley, the combination of a bed, a plurality of bowling pins, each having a longitudinal bore therethru, a vertically movable carrier for lowering said pins onto said bed comprising a pair of spaced platforms, the lower of which has holes therein, each serving as a guide for a pin and being of a diameter slightly greater than the greatest diameter of the pin, an elastic tether for each pin extending through the bore therein and secured adjacent the bottom thereof and extending upwardly through a hole in each of said platforms, means on said carrier spaced a substantial distance above the upper platform for securing the upper end of said tethers, means for moving said carriers up and down, and means for releasably retaining said pins on said bed, said tethers bein operative on release of said pins from said bed to draw them u through said openings.

ROVER O. WARDROP. 

